All Possible Efforts
by Love.Witches
Summary: Ships are disappearing from the Strike Witches world and fleet-girls seem to be appearing in their place. Friendships and romances are formed as the girls of two different worlds are brought together under strange circumstances.
1. Chapter 1

**Do not own Strike Witches or KanColle. Damn.**

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1.

The world switched rapidly between bright blue and black as Nagato blinked over and over. Something felt out of place. She slowed her blinking and tried to comprehend the situation. She felt weightless and thought to herself that she must be dreaming, but she couldn't shake the feeling of reality. The sky above her had few clouds, flecked randomly across the canvas, and the searing brightness suggested a summer afternoon.

As she tensed and relaxed her muscles she felt sand rolling over her hands, the feeling slowly returning to her limbs. She lifted one arm straight into the sky to shake the pins and needles and provide some much needed shade. A shot of pain ran up her calf starting from her toes as she kicked something hard. She propped up on her elbows to look around properly and noticed her battle suit scattered around her. She thanked the gods that most of it seemed undamaged, she had a bad feeling it would be needed later.

She finally stood, stretching her arms above her head and twisting her back to ease some tension. Nagato gathered her gear into an organised pile by her side. Everything had a place and today of all days she planned to stick to her routines. She ran her fingers through her hair and discovered one of her radars were slightly bent. After forcefully bending the head piece back into shape she attempted to contact Mutsu.

'Come in, Mutsu. Over.'

Only the sound of static rung in her head. She walked along the beach a little way and when the static dulled she tried again.

'This is flag-ship Nagato. Does anyone copy?'

Static.

Nagato paced back to her equipment and started inspecting the damage. She slung the machinery over her shoulders then secured it around her waist and upper thighs, cursing under her breath when the weight first bore down through her legs. For the first time Nagato realised how much she took the launching sequence for granted. Her equipment had never seemed heavy or uncomfortable to her before, but now she couldn't shake either sensation. She made her way down to the shore, stumbling in the soft sand every so often. As the waves started to lap around her ankles she reached down to double check her floats and props. Satisfied she stepped onto the water.

* * *

Sanya stirred. Waking to the sound of static.

She rolled over to discover the empty space beside her. 'Must be late.' She concluded out loud. Eila would have been beside her if it was still morning. She reluctantly sat up.

Once she overcame the urge to go back to sleep she channelled her magic and searched for the source of the static with her mind, a fluorescent green antenna appearing from above her ears and casting a dull light over her face. _'…Nagato…anyone…'_ Sanya could barely make out the words. She slung her feet over the edge of the bed and rose up. The only thought going through her mind was that Minna needed to know what she had heard, even though she knew the few words she had detected were not much to go on.

She sighed heavily and went to the foot of the bed to gather her clothes, like always Eila had folded them neatly and piled them on one side.

The walk to the commanders' office went by slowly. Sanya had kept her antenna up and searched for any traces of the earlier voice. Nothing else had been said but she could detect an unfamiliar presence. She knew it wasn't a Witch, but she didn't believe it was Neuroi either. By the time she reached up her hand to knock on her superiors' door she was convinced she had narrowed down the location as much as possible, but it seemed to be moving at a steady pace with no particularly obvious destination.

* * *

Nagato stopped as suddenly as the rough water would let her. For a seemingly fair weathered day the waters sure were choppy. From her knowledge she concluded that she must be in a straight of some kind, or somewhere with conflicting currents.

She turned as she slowed, trying to pinpoint the location of the noise, it was like nothing she had ever heard before. An image of her aircraft carrier comrades came to mind as the sound was not too dissimilar to some of Akagis' escort planes, but something was telling her this source was different. _'Maybe I'm in a different country and their fleet girls are different to ours.'_ She thought. Though that still didn't answer her question of how she had arrived there. The thought had been bugging her for some time now as her continued efforts to contact someone hadn't resulted in any replies from her fleet.

She squinted into the bright sky trying to the see the planes as they approached. As soon as she witnessed the source of the noise, however, she felt water lapping around her waist. The pure shock having put her off balance and causing her to fall. The shape in the sky seemed to do a similar double take and rolled awkwardly to the left before regaining posture and continuing towards her. Nagato stood upright as soon as she could and shifted her weight to her back leg, taking up a defensive stance and adjusting her turrets ready to fire.

'What on earth?' Nagato didn't even bother to keep her thoughts internal. Hoping instead that the sound may wake her from this weird dream. 'Is that seriously a girl?'

The shape in the sky stopped heading towards her and raised itself to full height.

The girls were motionless. A mere 20 meters separating them. Far enough away to feel safe, but close enough to truly take in the sight before them.

'What is going on?' both girls voiced their similar thoughts.

Sensing that the plane-girl in front of her meant no harm Nagato brought herself slowly out of the defensive stance. All the while staring down the girl for any sign of hostility as she increased her vulnerability. But rather the creature just hovered in the same air space. Her mouth, Nagato was convinced by now that the weird animal was at least female, remained open in awe. Relying on her knowledge of her own fleet girls Nagato guessed the female was a few years younger than her.

'Nagato.' For now this was all she was willing to share, not wanting to reveal too much before knowing what she was in for.

The girl closed her mouth at least, but she still appeared too shocked to reply. Nagato was convinced she could at least understand some of the things she said, considering that the creature had shared similar thoughts as herself only moments before. 'Flag-ship Nagato.' She continued, hoping that this would help the female before her realise she was a fleet-girl. _'Maybe she's never seen a fleet girl before?'_ Nagato considered, after all she had never seen such a creature which was half plane. Though on closer inspection Nagato was starting to believe the girl was not actually half plane, but rather sporting some kind of machinery similar to her own equipment.

'Yosh…' The girl had started but quickly stopped as the similar sound from earlier started becoming louder.

Realising that the sound meant more plane girls Nagato quickly returned to her defensive stance. She knew she would be able to beat one, possibly even up to three if the weapon the young girl was holding by her side was the best they had. But she had seen the girl approach and knew they were fast. Faster than any flying-type Abyssal she had faced.

'Yoshika we told you not to go ahead.' A stern voice barked down from above. Three more girls had arrived. These girls all arguably older than the first, the one she now knew to be Yoshika. And by the way the long haired plane-girl had spoken they were all likely her superiors. Nagato couldn't help but think of Fubuki. The way she showed such determination to take Yamato to sea only weeks before. _'So Yoshika is probably just as bad at following orders.'_ She realised.

The four girls now all hovered in line next to each other staring down upon her. The feeling was making her uneasy but she was at least grateful they hadn't surrounded her. At least this way she could take out a couple at once with some well-placed shells.

One of the girls flew forwards slowly lowering her massive weapons by her side as she did so, likely trying to show she meant no harm. _'Definitely can't take them all.'_ Nagato realised. The other new girls carried smaller weapons, similar to Yoshikas'. This stern looking plane-girl, however, had two large weapons which looked like some kind of rifle, one in each hand. Two chains of bullets criss-crossed her chest and two rocket looking items were visible past each shoulder. _'Why can she carry so much?'_ Was the only thought running through Nagato's mind right now.

Since the girl had made it evident that she wasn't approaching to attack, Nagato again slowly changed her stance and repeated her earlier introduction. 'I'm flag-ship Nagato.'

'Flight Lieutenant Barkhorn.' The heavily equipped girl responded.

'Have you seen the other ship girls?' Nagato was now sure the girls meant no harm so she probed for answers to the many questions running through her head. Since this question was met with a blank stare she asked another. 'Do you all have plane souls?'

'What?' the confusion in the plane-girl called Barkhorn only confused Nagato further.

She visibly shook her head as if trying to regain her earlier composure.

'If you are not allies with the Neuroi you should come with us. Our Commander will want to speak to you.' Barkhorn continued.

'I have never heard of this Neuroi.'

This time Barkhorn looked as shocked as the other girls had looked previously. Meanwhile the other girls somehow managed to double their shocked faces.

'But everyone has heard of the Neuroi.' Yoshika claimed while rushing forward to pull up next to Barkhorn.

'If that is truly the case then you definitely need to follow us.' Barkhorn said, her voice now a little shaky.

'Do… um. Do you just walk on the water?' The final two girls had rushed forward and the plane-girls now made a small arc before her only meters away. The feeling of uneasiness rushed back over her with the close proximity of the potential threat.

'Yes.' Nagato answered the petite blonde girl. For some reason the small plane-girl reminded her of her sister, Mutsu, and a renewed feeling of confusion swept over. This time laced with sorrow as she pondered what fate had met her and if she would ever see Mutsu again.

'We don't have too far to go. You can just, um, walk at the speed you feel comfortable. We'll match your pace.' Barkhorn quickly turned and started slowly advancing forward. Nagato followed, slowly picking up pace. She didn't go her full speed though, not wanting to reveal what she was capable of in case she needed it later.

The Barkhorn girl continued in front her seeming to match her pace easily. The two blonde girls hovered slightly above and behind her, but the young plane-girl who first greeted her, Yoshika, was flying by her side staring at her in awe again.

'Wow.'

' _Ten minutes and that's all she can think to say'_ Nagato thought to herself, slightly amused by the reaction.

'You really are walking on water.' Yoshika continued. 'Well kind of walking. You look more like you're skating.'

'How do you stay floating?' The blonde from earlier asked. The two girls were now flying the same as Yoshika but on her other side. She could tell them apart easily as the speaking girl had a short blonde bob, whilst the other had long hair blowing behind her as she flew. They also wore different jackets, she finally noticed. Nagato had been so preoccupied earlier with the thought of defending her life that all she had noticed was the plane-like machines where their legs should have been. The girl with short hair wore a uniform similar to Barkhorn up in front, whilst the other girl had a long light-blue jacket with lighter coloured pouches at her hips. The jacket was just long enough to reach the top of her thighs. This girl, at least, had white stockings on adding some modesty to her look, the others wore nothing but underwear with their jackets. _'I guess that makes it easier for the planes.'_ She thought.

She stared again at the girl with stockings. Something had caught her eye the first time. She stared harder. She twisted her head slightly to the left and squinted assuming this might make it easier somehow. 'Wha…' Nagato's words were quickly replaced with a thud and gurgling noises as she stumbled and landed face first into the cold sea.

The flying girls quickly all stopped and turned to check if their new companion needed assistance.

Nagato rose once more to her feet and stared intently at the long-haired blonde. Then the short-haired. Then the one called Barkhorn, and finally turning to stare at Yoshika. _'So I am dreaming.'_ She finally concluded internally.

'Are you ok. Are you sore anywhere?' Yoshika spoke quickly and flustered staring down at her.

'Why do you all have ears?' Nagato finally managed. 'And tails?'

'I don't have ears.' The short-haired blonde claimed excitedly.

'Because we're witches of course.' The long-haired blonde answered sharply. Now that she had finally spoken Nagato thought she mightn't like this one. She seemed to have a stubborn air about her as she spoke down on the fleet-girl.

'That's enough Eila.' Barkhorn added. Something about Nagato had made Barkhorn think she needed to be respectful. Besides wanting to keep the manners of a Karlsland soldier she considered their new companion to be of as much importance as Minna. She held herself the same way and struck Barkhorn as a woman in charge.

'We're almost there.' Barkhorn spoke directly to Nagato now, and indeed beyond her was a coast. 'Commander Minna will tell you everything soon.'

She turned around and continued on. Nagato realised that the questions would have to wait. There was obviously a system of authority here not dissimilar to that of the Naval District, and if she believed in anything, it was following proper protocols. She readjusted herself and followed the plane-girl once more. She watched the tail of the girl in front of her sway side to side with the wind and passed the last few minutes of the journey trying to picture this 'Commander Minna'.

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 **Notes notes notes:**

 **I have a few chapters already written up, but I'll wait a bit in case there's some reviews about this that I can apply to following work.**

 **Regardless,**

 **Hope you enjoyed =)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Do not own either franchise.**

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2.

Nagato slowed her pace and kept her eyes trained on the shore. A large building lay in the background, in a way reminding her of the Naval District she so fondly considered home. Before the building stretched a long runway. She had only seen one runway in her life, but she knew straight away what it was due to how closely it resembled the decks of her aircraft carrier girls. On the edge of the runway were another seven girls. There was no denying that the seven before her were normal girls either. They all stood upright on two very normal legs and no matter how much she stared she couldn't distinguish any ears or tails, or other animal abnormalities of any kind.

She exhaled, not realising she had been holding her breath whilst staring at the figures before her. Nagato was now standing still atop the water. The four escorts hovering off to her side. Barkhorn flew forward and hovered in front of the group of seven and seemed to be relaying information but Nagato could not hear her from so far.

'You're standing on water!' A young girl squealed in pure excitement. She had two long black pigtails reaching down her back almost to her waist. Out of the eleven girls she had now met this one was clearly the youngest.

'Calm down Lucchini.' Another girl added calmly, grabbing the small girl by her upper arm and dragging her into her chest. Which Nagato had noticed she had plenty of.

' _Lucchini. Why do they all have such weird names?'_ Nagato thought. Though she hadn't learnt the importance of 'witches' or tails she had at least learnt some names on the way here. In her opinion Yoshika was the only one with a normal name so far. She had learnt that Barkhorns' given name was Gertrude, the small blonde girl was called Erica Hartman and the stuck-up Eila had a name she couldn't even remember now, let alone pronounce.

Barkhorn turned back around from the group of normal girls and waved some signal at the plane-girls still hovering beside her. The three instantly flew up to join Barkhorn before all four flew over the heads of the others and continued towards the big building in the background. They were out of sight before long as only the top of the building was visible to Nagato.

'I'm not sure what you need, but there is a small beach a short distance to your right.' A girl with long dark hair spoke down to her. For whatever reason she had an eye patch over one eye, so Nagato considered her to be the least normal looking of the remaining seven girls. 'Is that appropriate? We'll meet you there shortly.'

'Thankyou. That will be fine.' Nagato replied before turning and slowly venturing up the coast to locate the beach.

She had managed to take off her heavier equipment before anyone joined her, the day had left her exhausted and hungry. For the first time since arriving Nagato realised she hadn't refuelled since before the final battle with the Abyssals and the airfield princess.

' _So it was just machinery.'_

Amongst the members greeting her were Hartman and Barkhorn this time without the planes strapped around their legs. 'Ohh.' Was all Nagato could manage upon realising that along with their machinery legs and weapons, their animal traits had also disappeared. She suddenly felt uneasy realising this likely meant that the girls she had deemed normal possessed the animal traits after all.

'Major Sakamoto Mio.' The girl with the eye patch declared. Nagato guessed this girl was of a similar age to herself, and she appeared to be the oldest of the four present.

' _Another normal name.'_ Nagato thought to herself before replying. 'Flag-ship Nagato. I am flag ship of the Naval District and name ship of the Nagato class battleships.'

'Excuse me?' Sakamoto retorted.

Obviously this girl was not familiar with ship-girls either.

'Were you named after the battleship Nagato then?' She continued.

'No. I was named for the Nagato soul I possess. The original Nagato battleship has not existed for…' Nagato stopped mid-sentence seeing the girl before her redden with anger.

'The Nagato battle ship is the pride of the Fuso Navy and I'd appreciate…'

'Mio, stop.' The fourth girl finally spoke. Nagato instantly looked her way as the simple sentence had held such presence. The girl before her looked her age also, maybe slightly younger, it was hard to tell because though her features were flawless and youthful her eyes seemed so wise and her demeanour that of a natural leader. Her words had first grabbed Nagato's attention, but now she simply stared because she considered the girl so stunning. She had auburn hair but in the sun it appeared an even brighter red. She wore a jacket similar to Barkhorns but her legs were bare like the others. Her body was toned but not masculine and her plentiful chest was obvious despite the cover of the jacket. Nagato admired her in silence waiting for her to continue. This surely had to be Commander Minna.

'Nagato. I think it will be best if we continue in my office.' She looked down at the equipment beside the girl before continuing. 'You can place your equipment in our hanger if you have no other preferences.'

Nagato slung her equipment back over her shoulders, not worrying this time about securing it to her body and indicated for the commander to lead the way.

Once they reached the hanger she lowered her suit down and started to remove the rest of the machinery from her lower legs. Whilst she was preoccupied Barkhorn came by her side, picked her earlier equipment up with one hand and with apparently little effort walked it over to a prepared space. 'No way.' Nagato whispered under her breath. Even when she was full of energy she had always needed to carry her equipment with two hands. The only fleet-girl with heavier machinery was Yamato. She walked over to add the rest of her equipment, all whilst trying to hide how annoyed she was at the previous display of strength.

She now sat across from the Commander in a small but comfortable office. Sakamoto and Barkhorn were both still present but Erica had skipped off once they had returned to the base. Sakamoto the whole conversation had appeared to be biting her tongue and concentrating on keeping silent.

Nagato had quickly been brought up to speed with the basic matters. No one knew what a ship-girl was. The girls of the base were known as 'witches' and could all fly around the sky with machinery called 'striker units'. And the witches were all a part of a group called the '501st Joint Fighter Wing' also known as 'strike witches'.

But with the basics out of the way Commander Minna now sat staring at her in shock, the same reaction she got the first time she had said so.

'So you've really never heard of the Neuroi?'

'I'm sorry but the last thing I remember is battling the Abyssals with the Naval District.'

'What on earth is an Abyssal?' Barkhorn questioned from the side of the room.

This time it was Nagato's turn to stare at the girls in shock.

'You have never heard of the Abyssals?'

The conversation took longer than anyone had first planned. It seemed both parties had a lot to learn about the conflicts occurring in the apparently different worlds. By now, at least that much was assumed correct. Though, how Nagato had reached this world in the first place was a mystery.

Nagato was recounting her last memories; that of fighting the Abyssal fleets airfield princess, when a radio on Minnas' desk interrupted her.

Apologising Minna accepted the call and the whole room was silent whilst the voice on the other end explained the news.

'What!' This was the first Sakamoto had spoken since entering the office. 'A battleship can't just disappear.'

'We lost contact this morning Major. We deployed fleets as well as witches to the last location. But we can now confirm with certainty that the battleship Nagato has vanished.' The radio relayed the message to the members of the room.

The room was silent, all eyes now on Nagato as if expecting she had answers. Only one thing was of interest to her though, 'You still have actual ships?'

* * *

Minna finally stood up from behind her desk, twisting her neck left and right trying to ease the ache running down her spine. The conversation had gone on for long enough. Plenty had been learnt, but in all Minna couldn't shake the feeling that nothing had actually been accomplished. Without knowing any details of how Nagato had come to their world, or why the battleship Nagato had disappeared on the same day, she had no idea of how to reverse the situation.

'How about we break for dinner?' She suggested to the room, only to be met by grunts of approval.

'I am pretty hungry.' Nagato added. She was slightly worried, however. She ate a lot of food and due to this she often avoided eating at the same time as the other fleet-girls or ate in the operations room with Mutsu. In this new world she didn't know what to expect. She assumed she would be judged for how much she was already planning on consuming, but mainly she was hoping enough had been prepared in the first place.

'That's good.' Barkhorn replied. 'Yoshika ran straight to the kitchen once she was out of her striker claiming that she wanted to cook some food for you.'

Nagato smiled in response and followed the three girls down a hall and into a large dining room. The other girls were all sat at one long table, various dishes before them like a proper banquet. The dishes though, were not piled very high and Nagato secretly hoped the other girls wouldn't eat much because she had a bad feeling that not enough food was available.

She took a spot as indicated by the commander and found herself next to a pretty girl with long flowing blonde hair and oval shaped glasses. Barkhorn sat on her other side and Minna and Sakamoto sat across from them. Sakamoto had remained quiet and brooding all evening.

'M-Major.' The pretty blonde next to her squeaked whilst quickly adjusting the neck tie around her jacket. Nagato instantly picked up on the need for attention the girl was displaying. She had witnessed many similar actions amongst her own base members.

Nagato eyed the food hungrily but managed to keep her composure until the commander had reached for a dish. Taking it as the sign she was after Nagato quickly filled her own plate high and dug in.

'You really were hungry.' Minna commented as Nagato finished her last mouthful and went to refill her plate.

'Well, I am a battleship.' Nagato tried to cover her embarrassment but she could still feel the heat rising in her cheeks and she was sure it was showing. 'Though Akagi would probably still eat more than me.'

Sakamoto cringed at the mention of the Akagi. The ship meant a lot to her and she hated to think of some girl with uncontrollable eating habits representing the soul of the ship in another world.

'I can make more Nagato-san.' Yoshika jumped up from her chair and quickly rushed towards the kitchen, seemingly happy that someone was here to eat what she made. A girl similar in age to Yoshika jumped up to follow her. Whilst their ages seemed similar Nagato couldn't help but notice quite how busty the young girl was.

The night continued on quite joyfully. The girls were all buzzing with the opportunity to speak to their guest. Nagato was quite the spectacle among the younger members who all had countless questions for her. She didn't mind one bit, all the while that the questions were happening Yoshika was bringing plate after plate of delicious food. Surprisingly Nagato found herself becoming full and had to stop the young girl who insisted she could keep cooking.

Nagato had learnt the names and home lands of the girls present. They each seemed keen to share their own stories with her and Nagato was saddened to realise how many of them had been separated from their families or had lost their home lands. Despite it all though, the girls were cheerful and clearly had found happiness with their current position at the base.

With the knowledge off all the countries Nagato had started to piece together and answer her own questions. They were currently in Brittania, a place Nagato had never visited. In honesty Nagato had never travelled too far from the Naval District. She knew a little of all the countries mentioned though due to the girls at the district. Zuikaku and Shoukaku knew a lot about Brittania, and apparently there was a witch here from Orussia - currently on night patrol - and Nagato found herself wondering if she said 'Khorosho' all the time like Hibiki.

Most of all Nagato now realised why Sakamoto had been so sour with her since meeting. Major Sakamoto, as well as Yoshika were both witches from the Fuso Navy. The very country that the Naval District was in, and the Navy ships that her and her ship-girls now possessed the souls of. It must have been hard for her to hear that the very ships she loves so much are no longer existent in another world. Nagato also had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that having the original battleship Nagato disappear in place for a girl must be difficult to accept.

Sakamoto was no longer in the dining hall, she had left earlier claiming she was going training to clear her head. Minna now also excused herself, saying that she should start some paperwork on this whole ordeal. This left Nagato with eight bright eyed witches. Well seven, Barkhorn was no longer bright eyed over her presence. The young pigtailed girl smirked as Minna left the room, a little show of mischief crossing her face. She instantly launched herself at Nagato and sunk both small hands into her soft chest.

'Hehehe'. The girl laughed cheekily as she groped Nagatos' chest over and over; the ship-girl too in shock to stop her straight away. 'They might be bigger than yours Shirley.'

'No way! Mine are way bigger.' Shirley claimed folding her arms under her chest to rest her breasts on top trying to prove her point.

By this time Nagato had returned to her senses and shoved the young girl off her. 'Ohh. No fair.' Francesca grumbled and went straight to Shirley, nuzzling her face against the girls' chest.

'I'll check who's bigger.' Nagato turned just in time to witness the feral look in Eila's eyes. She was a whole different person now to what she had been earlier. Erica had filled her in on the details after dinner, claiming that Eila was so upset because Nagato was the first person Sanya thought of this morning. The statement still confused her.

Nagato dodged to the side and crossed her arms in front of her for protection. Eila smiled devilishly and raised her hands before her to lunge at Nagato a second time.

'We can find out who's bigger in the bath.' Erica chimed in playfully.

'Yes. Let's all go to the bath.' Yoshika appeared to be having the time of her life watching the girls running around and groping each other. At the suggestion of a bath she almost couldn't contain herself. She quickly grabbed Lynnette's wrist and bolted out of the hall.

'Uhh. No thank you. I think I may return to Commander Minnas' office and help with the paperwork. I am the cause of all this after all.' Nagato would admit to being the problem for the Neuroi in the first place if it would save her from being groped again. She often preferred to keep to herself and being the Naval District flag-ship, had never been exposed to such behaviour before tonight.

Most of the girls complained at this idea. Shirley seemed desperate to know who was actually bigger and the gropers from earlier seemed eager to try again when her bare skin was available.

Luckily for her Barkhorn seemed extremely straight and narrow. 'That makes sense. You can ask Minna afterwards where the baths are, they'll be empty by then.'

Nagato turned the opposite direction from the girls as they exited the dining hall and started towards the commanders' office. She had to take a few deep breaths before she knocked to enter as her heart had suddenly started racing. What was it about this girl which caused her such dramas? She had never met anyone who could make her want to act cute. Not even Mutsu witnessed this side of her. Not directly anyway, Mutsu had once caught her talking like a happy little girl to an adorable squirrel. Nagato felt a blush creep across her cheeks as she imagined the commander with gorgeous puffy squirrel cheeks.

'Ohh, calm down Nagato.' She scolded herself quietly.

* * *

 **I'll upload a couple of chapters at a time until I catch up to where I've written.**

 **Hope you enjoyed =)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Not the owner of Strike Witches or KanColle**

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3.

Mio was finally feeling calmer. 'Nothing a good training session can't fix.' She declared to her quiet surroundings.

She stared down at Reppumeru and admired the way the moon reflected in the blade.

'Alright. I should go see Minna.' Mio returned her treasured sword to its sheath and started for the building.

It didn't take long for Mio to arrive at the door to her friends' office. She tapped her knuckles softly against the door a few times to not startle Minna too much and opened to let herself in. Naught but an empty chair and cluttered desk greeted Mio though. She stood startled for a minute before deciding to check the dining hall.

Sure enough as she approached the room Mio could hear Minnas' sweet voice echo around the hall. She seemed happy despite today's stressful events. She paced up to the door and opened it swiftly. Again Mio could only stand startled in a doorway. Minna and Nagato were over by the couches, a drink each and a plate of biscuits between them on the table. Mio could only be thankful for the fact they were opposite each other rather than cosy together on the one couch. _'Am I jealous of her?'_ Mio had never been good with understanding or expressing her own feelings. This was the first time she had ever been jealous of someone making one her friends smile. But his was also the first time the friend in question had been Minna. Mio just hadn't made the connection yet, instead assuming she was jealous due to her dislike of Nagato in general.

There was something about Nagato which Mio couldn't handle. It wasn't just her name-sake that bothered her, she knew that much at least. Nagato had been accepted into their base as a guest, had explained her situation aptly and clearly had the air of a natural leader, which she claimed she was in her own world. The woman was perfect. She even looked perfect. And it was that very realisation that made Mio grind her teeth together as she approached the girls before her.

' _I just have to find what's not perfect.'_ She thought to herself during her approach.

'Ahh Mio. Come join us.' Minna shifted over on the couch creating an opening for her friend. Without hesitation Mio walked stiffly over and took up the offered spot.

'So then.' Nagato began. 'What are you?'

'Huh?' Mio was completely taken aback by the question.

'She means what is your familiar.' Minna informed her. 'Nagato was just explaining to me how she tasted the ocean earlier this afternoon when she first saw Eila's tail.' Minna resumed her soft giggles as she pictured the event all over again. She found it even more amusing since Nagato was clearly such a serious person in reality.

'Ohh. My familiar is a doberman.' Mio stated. 'It's a type of large dog.' She quickly added, unsure of how much similarities there were between the two worlds.

'That seems suitable for you. You strike me as such an active person.' Nagato wasn't completely sure if people were supposed to represent their animal spirit things, she had only recently found out they even existed. _'Not as cool as a wolf though.'_ She quickly added for her own benefit, still in awe that such a gentle seeming character as Minna had such an animal. _'So she is a born pack leader.'_

'Uhh. So why do you have an eye patch then?' Upon first learning of the animal spirits she had assumed the eye patch was to do with this. But no matter how hard she thought about it she couldn't draw a link between the patch and a doberman.

'That is because of my magic eye.' The statement resulted in a blank and confused stare by the newcomer. In explanation Mio pinched the bottom of the patch and lifted it up to reveal a bright purple eye.

The sight before her was unlike anything Nagato had seen, and Nagato considered herself to have witnessed many unique sights in life. She stared directly into Mio's eye and could almost see currents of purple constantly flowing around the iris, the sight was hypnotising. She snapped out of it as Mio lowered the patch back down.

'So why doesn't everyone have a magic eye? Since you all have magic.'

The conversation continued in a similar manner for a short while. Nagato was informed all about the finer details of being a witch. Magic, familiars, special abilities and the Neuroi were all covered in depth. Or at least Nagato assumed they were covered in depth, she couldn't possibly remember anything else if she was told. She was still trying to comprehend what a 'core' was.

'We have a training session planned for tomorrow morning. It's a mock battle. You can meet me at my office in the morning and once we've done some more paperwork I'll show you around the base and show you the training.' Minna rattled off plans to Nagato.

Mio sat back and watched her friend light up at the idea of showing this new person some of the girls in action.

'That sounds interesting.' Nagato replied.

' _She's too serious.'_ Mio thought to herself, again judging Nagato for no real reason.

* * *

Minna lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. It was late and she knew she should sleep since she had a big day tomorrow, but she was restless. Something about Nagato intrigued her.

The conversation from earlier kept replaying in Minnas' mind. She was quite bashful when talking to Nagato about her familiar. To the witches there was little bragging rights over different familiars, but the reaction she got from Nagato once she found out about her wolf had amused her. Minna had often considered to herself that having a wolf familiar did sound pretty impressive, tonight was just the first time she had seen it confirmed.

' _Yer but she's a battleship.'_ Minna allowed herself a quick reality check. Anyone would rather be a battleship than a wolf, right?

Minna found her mind kept wondering to the obvious. Nagato was gorgeous.

She was tall, toned, busty and ultimately flawless. Minna also couldn't help but think the headpiece that Nagato had kept on added to her charm. Even after leaving her equipment in the hanger she had kept some form of metal choker as well as her head piece. Minna found out during their earlier conversation that the items only came off for sleep, apparently even when bathing she would remain partially equipped. To top it all off Nagato had a fantastic smile, a smile that made Minnas' heart flutter and made her only think of one thing –'lady killer'.

Nagato hadn't smiled often. She had sat up proper and remained serious during most of their exchange. Though Minna could sense that she hid a softer, almost child-like, side. Her eyes were glimmering as she was bombarded with information about witches.

Minna finally felt her eyes grow heavy and slowly bring darkness to her world as she realised why she found their visitor so mesmerising. _'She's kind of like Mio.'_

* * *

The day started as any other for the witches. The sun was already above the tree lines, allowing its light to creep into the rooms and wake the occupants one by one. Two girls, however, were already awake; one in a skin tight navy blue swim suit and dripping with sweat as she swung her sword repeatedly, the other enjoying a not-so-light snack in the dining hall adjusting her headset in a restless manner.

It hadn't been a bad night sleep for Nagato. She had opened the window when shown to her room, allowing the soothing sounds of the crashing waves to reach her. It was her first night apart from Mutsu since her younger sister had entered service at the Naval District several years earlier, but Mutsu wasn't the only girl on her mind as she tried to sleep. The bed, though, had proven just as comfortable as her futon at home and she soon found herself drifting off with a certain wolf prancing through her imagination.

Yoshika ran into the kitchen dragging Lynette by the wrist beside her. _'Poor girl.'_ Nagato cringed as she saw the local witch trying to steady her chest as it bounced side to side with Yoshikas' enthusiastic pace.

'Ohh. Morning Nagato-san' Yoshika chirped when she saw the guest. 'Want some breakfast? I'm cooking rice too.'

Despite the now empty plate of food, which she had managed to pile with some leftovers from previous nights, she smiled and eagerly agreed. That had also been a new experience for Nagato. The ship-girls at the Naval District relied on cafes for their daily meals and even the fridges in various offices never stored food for long. When she entered the dining hall earlier she was shocked to find so much food readily available and couldn't quite control herself.

Other girls streamed into the dining hall sporadically and took up spots along the long table. Nagato smiled as she realised just how similar these girls were to her own. Barkhorn reminded her of Kaga; always serious, and even her relationship with Erica held similarities to the way Kaga interacted with Akagi. Though it seemed Barkhorn tolerated the petite blonde rather than admiring her like Kaga did Akagi. The young Lucchini skipped into the room far too energetically and leaped into a spot next to her friend with an enthusiastic 'Shirley.' She couldn't quite recall seeing anyone as energetic as Lucchini but she had a nagging feeling that Shirley resembled someone closely, she just couldn't think of who right now.

As if on cue Shirley returned the enthusiastic greeting and squished the young girl into her chest. 'Yo. Francesca. Ready to kick Barkhorns team in our battle?'

' _Ohh. Kongou.'_ Looking at it now Nagato was surprised it had taken so long to make the connection.

The girls left the dining hall as quickly as they had arrived, seemingly to attend to matters of their own. Nagato finished up her final serving of rice and left for Minnas' office. She struggled to keep a professional and serious look on her face as she giddily knocked on the door.

* * *

The base tour hadn't taken long. The dining hall, hanger and individual rooms were known to her already and it seemed to only other room of importance to the tour was the bath. Nagato was surprised by the bath before her. It was large enough to look comfortable but it wasn't as big as the Naval Districts and apparently there was only the one large bath as no individual recovery areas could be seen off to the side.

Minna waved her hands around happily though as if the bath was the pinnacle of the tour and was supposed to impress Nagato.

'Where are the individual baths?' She asked Minna, she wasn't too sure if the witches would refer to them as docks or something different since they were planes.

'We only have the one bath, but we have showers as well if you prefer?' Minna clearly didn't understand what Nagato was asking.

Confused at the reply Nagato tried a different approach. 'But what if you get injured in battle?'

By now the conversation was going in circles. Nagato could tell from Minnas' flustered attempt at trying to explain about medics and Yoshikas impressive healing ability that the witches used baths for a completely different purpose than her.

Nagato abandoned the stuttering commander and went to dip her arm into the water. The feeling which greeted her was cold and uncomfortable. The liquid surrounded her arm up past her elbow but no soothing sensation ran through her body like usual. Nagato withdrew her arm in slight panic small droplets of water clinging to her now glistening skin as if to taunt her of their useless existence.

Minna observed the scene silently and seeing the worry stricken Nagato finally understood that she was missing some key element of this conversation.

'Is something wrong?'

Nagato tried her best to give a hasty description of the docks at Naval District and the way they helped a ship-girl recover after battle exhaustion or an injury.

By now Minna shared some of her worry, having pieced together that being a battleship Nagato may have an extensive and complex healing method. She made a mental note to console with some Admirals and engineers in the Fuso Navy to discover some of the maintenance procedures they used for their ships.

'We'll work something out. I promise.' Minna encouraged the girl before her in full sincerity. She couldn't imagine letting any harm come to her gorgeous guest.

Nagato smiled at the concern the commander had shown. Something about Minnas' words had ensured her that she truly would solve this problem. She followed the auburn haired witch out past the change rooms and towards the hanger, the training would be starting soon.

* * *

Nagato was dumbstruck. She often avoided such unprofessional behaviour but the sight before her was just too abnormal.

It had been almost a whole day since Nagato had seen any tails or ears so she was starting to forget the image already. But now she was greeted with such a myriad of animal parts that she was forgetting to close her mouth. The hanger flashed blue every now and then as more girls pencil dived into their strike units. Each dive resulted in a blue ring emanating from under the newly formed plane-girls as tails of various colours and styles grew from their lower backs and ears of every shape imaginable stuck upright between patches of hair, some then falling back down under their own weight as they were so long.

'Quite amazing isn't it.' Minna added from beside her. The commander was yet to partake in the ritual herself which Nagato was not completely upset about. She loved the idea of Minnas' inner wolf, but wasn't sure if she was ready to see the new subject of her thoughts with a tail and ears like the others.

Nagato dragged herself out of the awestricken state and simply nodded her acknowledgement at the commander.

The girls by now had started exiting the hanger. They rolled along the floor for a while before reaching the opening to the large building and slowly rising from the tarmac. Each then shot off at incredible speeds before hovering a small distance away from the main door, most girls hovered calmly but some refused to rest until completing summersaults in the air.

Sakamoto looked back at Nagato and the commander from her position in the middle of the room. She now had two upright black ears and a long slender tail whipping back and forth behind her. Coupled with the eyepatch the witch now looked quite intimidating. 'Everyone's ready Minna.' She addressed the girls.

With a nod Minna quickly ran up the steps beside her striker and stood on a small landing above it. She smirked back at Nagato almost as if craving the attention for her next trick. She sprung up through her toes and gracefully slid feet first into her striker. The hanger lit up blue and her hair whipped above her wildly before settling back into its natural position. Nagato didn't blink once as she watched a tail sprout from the gap in her jacket. It was shorter than Sakamotos' but it was thicker. Or maybe bushier was the term she was looking for. Her ears were grey like her tail and stood out almost majestically against the colour of her hair. Minna shook her head a few times encouraging her hair to fall back into place around her now present ears. She opened her eyes, which to Nagato's surprise had been closed during the ordeal, and stared straight at her, the same attention seeking grin slowly spreading out over her face.

'I'm going to assume that shocked look means you're impressed.' She quickly sung out to tease the ship-girl. She was rolling towards Nagato slowly and even at her full height she had to now tilt her head back to look up at the commander properly. Minna definitely wasn't short considering the witches at the base, but Nagato had always been taller than most and until now had stood a few inches higher than Minna.

'Come out to the runway.' Minna added as she turned and rolled away to join Sakamoto, together the girls then left to join their fellow witches.

* * *

 **Realised I should clarify:**

 **I do often switch between first and last names for the Witches. I'm sorry if this confusing or annoying.**

 **I'm trying to stick with what name may be used depending on whose perspective the section is written from. e.g. Mio is called Sakamoto by everyone except Minna.**

 **Enjoy =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Still don't own them.**

* * *

4.

The girls were once again crowding along the table and chatting away merrily as they enjoyed the meals before them.

Nagato was still recalling the finer details of the earlier aerial display. She had watched for over an hour, not even realising how much time was passing her by, as the plane-girls rolled and dodged and shot what appeared to be paint at each other. She was amazed at how quickly the hunter could become the hunted when in the sky. Nagato had to admit that open water battles were significantly less graceful. But the small weapons the girls sported weren't half as impressive as watching a torpedo take down an Abyssal.

As she hadn't done much at all today her lunch was quite small. Or at least small by her standards, she still hungrily filled her plate after the first round. Shirley and Barkhorn both stared her down whilst eating.

'Well I can still eat more than you Barkhorn!' Shirley chirped at the girl across from her clearly annoyed at having to settle for second best.

Barkhorn just grunted in response.

'How about a bath then everyone?' Shirleys' question was answered with ecstatic squeals as some of the younger girls dove towards the dining room door, Yoshika once again leading the way.

The young Orussian girl had left just moments before to go get some rest before night patrol and now Minna was managing to avoid the group bath because she had some calls to place.

Nagato quickly realised she had no excuses this time around. She wasn't so worried about the potential gropers now, but rather dreading the thought of the sticky liquid wrapping itself around her exposed body. She couldn't control a shudder as the thought came to her.

'Ohh it'll be fine.' Shirley reassured her after witnessing the display. 'I'll keep the girls off you if you're that worried.'

She was now alone in the dining hall with Shirley, Sakamoto and Barkhorn, Erica having joined the younger girls from the start. 'I guess I can join you for a while.' Nagato replied reluctantly.

'HAHAHA. That's the spirit.' Sakamoto boomed out a laugh unlike any she had ever heard before. Nagato had noticed that she seemed more cheerful since the mornings' battle. _'Now let's see how perfect you really are.'_

The older girls were together in the change rooms and Barkhorn had pointed out a spare basket that she could put her uniform in once undressed. Nagato could hear the laughter of the girls next door echoing around the room.

'Is everything alright?' Shirley had left to join in the bathroom fun but Barkhorn had stayed with Nagato noticing how uncomfortable she appeared. She quickly relayed her experience that very morning with the bath but with some encouragement from the witch decided to try the water one more time.

She almost dropped her towel in shock as she exited the changerooms. Young naked girls were running all around the bath or wading through the water, they were splashing water up at each other or trying to run away from Eila as fast as possible. She was surprised not to see Lucchini chasing the girls around as well, but then noticed her once again nuzzling into Shirley's huge chest. The pair were sitting comfortably against the side of the bath, the water keeping Shirley's breasts afloat as the cat like girl purred into her new position. Nagato considered for a second that Minna had surely been playing a joke on her last night, as there was no way such a crazy girl had the familiar of a majestic panther. Similar to last night Yoshika was just happily taking in the sight before her. Eyes flicking manically between Lynne's own exposed chest and the groping Eila.

Eila by this stage had stopped chasing the glasses girl around and was staring at her hungrily. Or rather was staring directly at her chest, still covered by the towel she clung to her front. Shirley raised an eyebrow quizzically as Erica yanked the towel down out of Nagatos' grasp. 'Pretty sure mine are bigger.' She finally said appearing triumphant. Now that the ginger girl was in the bath and completely exposed Nagato couldn't help but agree with her; her chest really was unmatchable.

Barkhorn stood in front of Nagato just in time. Her hands were on her waist and she stood stiff like a statue. Eila, who had pounced for Nagato, now released the older witches' chest in disgust. 'Hmmph. Come on Barkhorn. I just want to see Nagato. I swear I won't touch her.' None the less though Eila had started slinking away, accepting that she would have to try another day.

'Ohh Trude. You ruin all the fun.' Nagato was surprised to hear the small blonde using Barkhorns' first name, it was the first she had heard the girl being referred to as Trude.

'Come sit by me.' Yoshika suddenly called out from the side. Nagato approached the young girl, thinking this option was at least safer than near Eila. She couldn't help but notice that Lynne appeared bitter whenever Yoshika showed her some attention.

All eyes were on Nagato by now. Most of the girls were just relishing in the sight of the beautiful older women whilst Sakamoto seemed to be drilling holes in her with her glare. Barkhorn gave her a reassuring look whilst she herself slipped into the water by Erica.

Nagato dipped her toes in gingerly and was pleasantly surprised that the water was not cold like this morning. It still clung to her annoyingly as she lowered her leg further into the water and it did little to sooth her body – but it was bearable. She lowered herself up to her shoulders whilst Yoshika sat near her and stared in awe.

'Do you not like the bath?' She asked Nagato. Some of the other girls had also picked up on her reluctance and they all now waited patiently for an answer, staring at her like she was a visitor from another world, despite the fact she was.

Nagato learnt that day that to the witches, not enjoying the bath was practically a sin.

' _That can't be pleasant.'_ Mio thought to herself at the completion of Nagatos' explanation. She still quite disliked the girl. But to Mio a good soak in the bath was second to battling Neuroi so on some level she could sympathise.

'But surely the medics here can fix you if you get injured.' Yoshika was the most worried of the witches, Nagato recalled Minna saying something about her having healing abilities and assumed that she naturally cared for others wellbeing.

'I'm not quite sure. We had medics at the Naval District, but the ship girls all used the docks for repair. I don't think it's been done before.'

'Well what about me then?' Yoshika continued. 'Maybe I would be able to heal you if you ever needed it?'

The girls around the bath all nodded in agreement and Lucchini was most adamant that Yoshika could heal as well as she could cook.

'It doesn't even hurt when Yoshika helps you!' She started explaining, reluctantly pealing herself away from Shirley. 'Yoshika can definitely do it!'

Yoshika quickly stood in the bath, water drops racing down her front as she looked down at Nagato with a determined look on her face. 'I can try now. Are you injured anywhere?'

'Not particularly. But my muscles are still stiff from yesterday.' Nagato wasn't convinced that anything would help her as much as a visit to the docks. But with the suggestion of being healed she remembered that she hadn't had a chance to recover from her fight with the Abyssals only the morning before.

Before she had time to think a blue light filled the room and as she stared at Yoshika a bushy ginger tail appeared from nowhere and small ears grew on her head. She stepped in front of Nagato and placed her hands on her shoulders, they were fiercely glowing blue and the sight made her regret admitting she was sore. But the unease didn't last for long. Heat shot down her back and reached every one of her finger tips in unison. She felt her stiff shoulders relax as she allowed the heat to continue down her legs and creep up the back of her neck. The sensation wasn't completely new, it was almost likely getting an instant repair bucket, but it was somehow more calming. In the docks you could feel all your muscles and joints loosen instantaneously but this heat now worked her stiffness away slowly as if coaxing her body to relax.

She released a long drawn out sigh and followed it up with a light mewing sound as her body returned to it's normal energetic self. She opened her eyes to see Yoshika before her sweating slightly and her hands trembling before her eyes as the blue light faded and her ears withdrew.

'Yoshika! Are you alright?' Lynne jumped up and hugged Yoshika from behind as she struggled to keep herself upright.

'Wow. That was harder than I thought.' Yoshika was clearly exhausted but a satisfied smile played across her face.

Other girls had stood up in the bath to witness the spectacle more clearly. Sakamoto raced over to Yoshika and Lynne and settled the smaller girl on her lap as she sat back down in the bath. A fuming Perrine could be witnessed on the opposite side.

'I think we should avoid that again.' Barkhorn broke the silence, a clear look of concern on her face. In fact everyone except the girl with glasses seemed to be showing concern for their now exhausted comrade.

'I'm terribly sorry.' Nagato voiced her apology. 'To be honest I didn't think anything would even happen. I really didn't imagine to tire the girl so much.'

'I'm okay. Really.' Yoshika looked up from the majors embrace to meekly claim.

The merry mood gradually returned to the bath with the knowledge that Yoshika would be fine and eventually the girls went their separate ways planning to get some jobs done before evening.

* * *

Nagato spent the afternoon with Barkhorn and Sakamoto in the dining hall. Minna had finished with her earlier tasks and had joined the trio in the hall to discuss everything she had learnt.

'I've been speaking to some engineers in the Fuso navy.' She started after settling down with her coffee steaming away in her hands. 'We may be able to test the effects of some of their maintenance chemicals if you're willing to try.'

'I think that's a good idea.' Nagato didn't even have a chance to reply before Barkhorn had voiced her opinion. She was clearly eager to avoid having Yoshika heal her again. At Minnas' confused reaction Nagato and Sakamoto began filling her in on Yoshikas' earlier attempts to heal the exhausted ship girl.

'I'd rather not put Yoshika through that again either.' Nagato finished up after the explanation. 'I'm willing to try some other methods.'

Since everyone was in agreement Minna and Nagato returned to her office to finalise the plans. And within the hour Fuso had agreed to send over a selection of chemicals along with some engineers who seemed eager to inspect Nagato's battle suit. They would fly rather than arrive by ship so that they could arrive by the end of the week.

Both girls now relaxed back into their chairs. Minna rocked her large office chair back a few times as she sighed and twisted her neck left and right. Nagato was enjoying the sight. Each turn of the girls head made her hair drag over the top of her shoulders and settle in front luckily not quite hiding the slender neck from her view.

'Thankyou.'

'Hmm. For what?'

'For going out of your way to help me organise this. You have only known me for a day but you have been a great help.'

Minna blushed at the statement, she couldn't quite work out why she had tried so hard to please their guest. 'Well, I wouldn't want to exhaust Yoshika again.' She said, trying to cover up her real motives for helping.

'Aye. But you had contacted the Navy before you knew about that.' Nagato knew she had the upper hand now. The young witch was blushing before her and the baby pink glow on her cheeks contrasted with her bright eyes. Nagato realised for the first time that her eyes were debatably orange rather than light brown like she had originally thought. _'Maybe it's a wolf thing?'_

'I enjoyed watching your training earlier.' Nagato had been so enwrapped by the training that she had actually stared at girls other than Minna occasionally.

'Thankyou. I know the girls would love to see you in action someday too. As long as you don't mind of course.' Minna knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop once she had started. 'We could set up targets in the water or a course. We could watch from above.' Her smile grew bigger as she spoke.

Minna hadn't spent any time with the girls alone since Nagato had arrived so she hadn't been told they wanted to witness any of this. _'I just want to see for myself. Though I'm sure the girls would want to watch too.'_

Nagato had been the flag ship of the Naval District for several years and had been in charge of countless girls during that time. She prided herself of being situationally aware, and the fact that Minna surely hadn't spoken to any of the other witches recently did not slip past her.

This time it was Nagatos' turn to blush as she realised that Minna was genuinely excited about seeing her in action. Being of the Big Seven she had witnessed many bumbling girls wanting to watch her, but this was the first time one of those potential fan-girls had actually made her feel giddy and nervous.

'I'd love too.' Nagato didn't even hesitate.

'Ohh.'

'I have limited ammunition with me though. But I sure don't mind getting back out on the water and maybe hitting a few targets.' Nagato wasn't teasing. At the Naval District she was second only to the Admiral and rarely got a chance to go out herself. The adrenalin rush she had received when leaving to fight the Abyssals still lingered.

'How about tomorrow morning?' Minna was starting to get jittery with anticipation. 'I can get some of the girls to organise targets.'

The two made the appropriate preparations for the following day. Nagato didn't want to be in the way of their usual routine but Minna had confirmed they were not expecting an Neuroi attack until the day after at the earliest, she did though admit their intel was incorrect surprisingly often.

As the sun started to set they left the office to join the other girls back in the dining hall once more. Before everyone had a chance to go their separate ways after eating Minna made the announcement that Nagato would be performing for them in the morning. This was greeted with a burst of enthusiastic comments. Everyone was clearly excited about the prospect.

* * *

 **Not the most crucial chapter... but every Strike Witches story needs a bath scene!**

* * *

 **Here's another couple of chapters so you know I haven't forgot about you.**

 **I officially only have 9 days left of my degree!**

 **As such: updates shall slow down. I've even restrained myself from starting to write a Strike Witches AU I have planned. Such degree commitment (if only my lecturers could see me now)**

 **Anyway. As always**

 **Enjoy =)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Strike Witches = Not mine. KanColle = also not mine.**

* * *

5.

Nagato woke early again. Her night was noticeably more restless than her first night in Brittania. After dinner she left to check on all of her equipment and work out what ammunition she may be able to spare. She had been nervous the entire evening, worrying about impressing the commander.

 _The water lapped over her ankles and splashed up her inner thighs. She was trying to catch up to Mutsu who was yards ahead, but she was ever so slowly gaining on her. No matter how much she called for Mutsu to slow; the girl never did. Gun fire could be heard in the distance from other ship-girls. They too were sailing along in random directions but Nagato couldn't make out any faces. Planes flew overhead too low for comfort and churning the seas by her sides. She was closer now. Mutsu was within reach if she could just stretch her hand that last inch._

Nagatos' eyes flew open. She looked up at her hand reaching directly towards the ceiling before her. It was the first nightmare she had experienced in months. She wiped an escaped tear off of her cheek as she attempted to steady her now racing heart. _'Mutsu'_

* * *

Nagato stood above the water. One leg was stretched out behind her taking the force of the recoil. Now that the smoke was clearing she could see past the finger tips on her outstretched arm and faintly make out a float beneath a shattered target.

All that could be heard was the hum of engines as the girls above her hovered in awe.

'That was so loud!' Lucchini had finally spoken up.

'That was amazing!' The other girls followed suit as they one by one commented on her performance.

They all begged for more but Nagato had to decline explaining that she had limited ammunition.

'Calm down girls.' Minna had finally spoken up and tried to settle the now whining crowd. 'Maybe you can see more once we've spoken to the engineers.' She was trying desperately to stop the girls from demanding an encore.

She finally flew down to Nagato and hovered just before her, the ripples caused by her striker making Nagato bob up and down as she struggled to maintain eye contact. 'That really was amazing.'

Nagato played down the smile trying to form and managed to keep it at little more than a smirk but on the inside it was spread from ear to ear. Her blush, however, was not as controllable and Minna smiled back upon noticing it.

She was trying to structure her next compliment carefully so that in didn't come across as too obsessive. Before she could tell Nagato what she thought though, a voice came over her radio.

'Commander Minna. You need to come back now. There's a message you need to be present for. I'll meet you in your office.'

'Uhh. And bring Nagato.' Mio quickly added to the end of the call.

Minna was stressed at the request. Something in Mio's voice had informed her that she was clearly fuming, and an angry Mio was not something experienced often. She relayed the message to Nagato and the two of them returned to the base as quick as possible.

* * *

'Apparently there's some bad news.' Mio quickly rattled to Minna as she entered the office. Nagato stood to the side of the room and watched Minna take up her seat behind the desk and speak into the radio to confirm she was now present.

'It's happened again Ma'am.' The voice on the radio sounded unbelievably stressed. Nagato could sense the urgency in the voice. He clearly wanted to rattle off everything at once to the Commander but knew there was a proper protocol for communications.

'Calm down. Tell me the news.' Minna spoke clearly and calmly but from her clenched fists and whitening knuckles Nagato could tell something was bothering her.

' _Maybe it's new about the Neuori.'_ Nagato suddenly concluded. _'Minna did say earlier their intelligence was wrong on occasion.'_

Nagato was no stranger to receiving bad news about enemy attacks and deduced the stressed witches before her must be preparing for news of battle. But she was so wrong.

'It's Fubuki. Special Destroyer Fubuki.'

Sakamoto was speechless. Her anger was now so much that she stared at the radio as if contemplating slicing it in half before it could finish the report. Minna was of a similar manner, her face now as white as her knuckles as she just continued whispering 'no' to herself.

'She's vanished.' The man finished the report even though all the girls knew what would be said. The radio crackled evilly to the silent room. Nagato was as shocked as the other girls.

She didn't stay startled for long. She raced out of the room and straight for the hanger clumsily fastening her equipment around her legs and throwing the rest over her shoulders as she ran. She jumped off the side of the runway and landed on a knee the few meters below. She straightened herself up and shot off across the water at full speed.

'Fubuki. Fubuki. Fubuki.' Nagato couldn't even think of what else to add to the message she was just desperately trying for a reply. As she feared though; static.

* * *

Minna had stopped the girls putting on their strikers and chasing after Nagato. She knew she would be trying to contact her friend, the same thought had occurred to her and Mio upon hearing the news. Space is what Nagato needed at the moment. Besides, is anyone had answers it would be whatever girl possessed the soul of Fubuki and Nagato was their best chance at finding her.

It was well past dark by the time Nagato returned. She slumbered towards the hanger and Minna knew straight away that she had been unsuccessful in her attempts to locate the new ship girl. Minna had been waiting in the hanger for hours now, using her magic occasionally to reach out and look for any sign of Nagato. Finally, about half an hour ago, she could sense the older girl approaching the base.

'Come. You should eat.' Minna knew enough by now to realise how important meals were to the ship girls.

Nagato just smiled weakly and offloaded her equipment on the table.

* * *

As hungry as she must have been Nagato had only consumed one plate of food. Poking the meal with the fork lazily before each mouthful, head down and deep in thought.

'We confirmed that the Destroyer Fubuki has only been missing since this morning.' Minna started. 'We're trying to work out if there is any correlation between where the ships disappear from and where you arrive.'

'I went back to the beach I first awoke on. There was no sign of her.' Nagato was clearly distressed. 'She didn't respond once when I tried to contact her.'

'We'll find her.' Minna was trying her best to act strong. But she knew that arriving in the wrong place on this world could mean disaster. _'I hope she isn't near a hive.'_ Minna cringed at the thought and it didn't go unnoticed.

'Tell me more about the Neuroi. I need to know how strong they are.' Nagato had been having the same bad thoughts as Minna, she just didn't realise how bad the thoughts should be.

Nagato turned white as she listened. She knew that Fubuki by herself would be no match for a Neuroi encounter. A small one she would be able to handle, she had gone through extensive training to become Akagis' escort, and through such now had unmatchable anti-air combat abilities. But her torpedo's would be of no use against a flying enemy and her guns were not big enough to take down anything as large or fast as what Minna was describing.

'I have to try again. I have to contact her.'

'I know.' Minna was doing her best to be supportive. 'But I don't think you'll be able to reach her. I don't imagine your radar has a long enough range.'

Nagato knew she was right, but she couldn't give up the small hope.

'I have an idea.' Minna began and quickly put a hand on Nagato's own to stop her from standing.

They were soon joined by the young Orussian. Nagato had not seen her much as she seemed to always be on night patrol and asleep during the day. Even when she had been around, Eila had been glued to her side and staring menacingly at anyone who got too close.

Minna explained the situation in full and Sanya quickly caught on to the request.

'I can look for her.' The young girl quickly but quietly responded once Minna had finished. 'But the Neuroi might attack tonight.'

'Don't worry. I have already sent for Yoshika since she has experience with night battles. And of course Eila is already waiting in the hanger for you.' Minna spoke calmly to the delicate girl, but the glitter in her eyes betrayed how amusing she found Eilas' actions.

* * *

Nagato was awake with the first knock on her door. She hadn't been sleeping for long, if you could even call it sleeping. She had kept her headset on and strained for any sign of signal as she lay and wait.

'They found her.' This was all she needed and quickly pushed past Barkhorn and made her way to the hanger.

'I thought you would come straight here once you knew.' Minna was in the hanger doorway staring out into the dark sky. Nagato hadn't even stopped to check the time but she knew it must be late, or maybe even early morning already.

'They won't be back for a few hours though.' Minna continued.

'I'll wait here.'

'I thought you would do that too.' Minna handed a pillow to the older girl and turned to leave. She wasn't gone for long though and handed one of the hot cups of tea over as she sat down beside Nagato and cuddled another prepared pillow.

'She was hurt.'

'W-What?' Nagato quickly put her cup down beside her and made to leave.

'Not too badly.' Minna quickly replied, realising she may have started the conversation poorly. 'And Yoshika healed her.'

Nagato suddenly remembered how tired Yoshika had become after simply easing her stiff muscles. 'Is Yoshika okay?'

Minna smiled at the question. In all the commotion Nagato had still thought to worry about someone she hardly knew. _'She really is sweet.'_ Minna quickly thought to herself before replying.

'Thankyou. She is fine. She's tired but the girls are helping her make it back.'

Nagato sat and sipped her tea whilst Minna caught her up to speed. She realised she would find out the details a lot quicker if she didn't keep interrupting.

'Fubuki had appeared near a Neuroi, but luckily only a lone scout. According to the girls she had put up quite a fight. You should be proud.'

'Still' Minna continued, 'she didn't know about cores and hadn't managed to destroy the Neuroi herself. She had taken a few hits and was damaged by the time the girls rescued her. Yoshika healed her more severe injuries but there was nothing they could do about the damage to her machinery. That's why they will take so long to reach us. Once Sanya tells me they're closer you can go out to meet them. I'm sure Fubuki could do with a friend at the moment.'

Nagato nodded her thanks to the information and tried her best to calm down as she pondered the situation. She herself still hadn't even seen a Neuroi so it was a shock to hear Fubuki had fought one. _'That is definitely something that would happen to Fubuki.'_

After a couple of silent hours the girls were startled by the crackle of Minnas' ear piece. She had fallen asleep not too long ago and after lolling forward Nagato had decided to make her more comfortable and guided Minna down to her lap. Minna now quickly sat upright and seemed to be blushing from finding herself in the lap of the older girl. She cleared her throat and thanked Nagato for allowing her to sleep before returning her attention to the radio.

'Let's go.' Minna stood and made her way back into the hanger with Nagato in tow. 'Since they're back in radio range we should be able to meet up with them shortly.'

Once the two girls were equipped they made their way back out to the run way and Minna flew off ahead as Nagato walked down the ramp towards the water. _'They must have added this today.'_

Nagato picked up speed and once she was steadily cruising along Minna flew down to travel by her side. 'Sanya say's this way.' She muttered to her companion as she pointed ahead and banked slowly to the right.

Nagato would usually enjoy the sight next to her. Minnas' jacket was flapping with the wind as she flew and her vibrant hair was whipping behind her enticingly. She only allowed herself a small amount of time to admire the sight before turning her attention back to the bigger picture. 'Why is this happening?' Nagato had only planned to contemplate her new reality internally but she had voiced her question to the world instead.

'I want to know that too.' Minna answered.

Nagato looked up as she heard the familiar sound of striker engines buzzing in the distance.

'Fubuki. Can you hear me?' Nagato was desperate for a response.

'Secretary Ship? Nagato-san is it really you?' Fubukis' voice came over her radar tired and muffled but Nagato could clearly hear the tears in her voice. 'We didn't know what happened to you.'

'It's okay now Fubuki. I'm safe. And you will be now too.' Nagato pushed her engines with little regard for what fuel she had left. She sped towards the buzzing and saw the specks in the sky gradually grow into witches with Fubuki below them slowly cruising through the water. She had one of the girls flying low next to her waist as she steadied herself by slumping across the girls back.

'N-Nagato-san.' Fubuki managed the words out between breaths. Minna and Nagato had caught up and Fubuki now stood before her, held upright by Nagatos strong grip and exceptional strength.

'Thankyou Yoshika.' Nagato spoke up to the witches. Yoshika was now hovering with one arm across Minna so that the other witches could take a break from supporting the young girls.

'We've been doing patrols for days trying to find you.' Fubuki finally managed once she had caught her breath a little.

'You can tell me everything soon. Let's take you back for some rest.' Nagato pressed the girl into her side and wrapped her arm around the slight waist. It was awkward for Nagato to support her as the equipment was preventing her from getting a better grip. Satisfied that Fubuki was as comfortable as possible she slowly picked up speed, not wanting to push the young destroyer past exhaustion, and went straight for the base.

* * *

 **Finally getting more interesting.**

 **Be back with more as soon as possible!**

 **Enjoy =)**


	6. Chapter 6

**The story is finally back!**

* * *

6.

'At least you don't eat much Fubuki. I'm not sure we'd have enough supplies if you ate like Nagato.' Shirley was mainly just glad to see that Fubuki couldn't consume more than she could.

'Huh. Yeager-san?' Fubuki had never actually seen Nagato eat. Though, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense that she would eat a lot. She had seen Akagi and Yamato clean out a whole supply of rice once.

'Just call me Shirley.' The red-head replied energetically. 'I hear you fought a Neuroi all by yourself. You're practically a witch now!'

Fubuki almost fell backwards off her chair in shock. Nagato had stayed up with her and explained some aspects of this 'second world' but she wasn't too sure being called a witch could be taken as a compliment.

The sun was rising as the six girls had reached the base. The girls, which she had learnt were Eila and Sanya, helped lead Yoshika to the medics and Nagato had followed behind carrying herself bridal-style. She turned crimson as she relived the memory.

She was pretty much back to full health by now. The medics and Yoshika had finished healing up her physical injuries once they arrived. The medics were trying to do it themselves whilst others were trying to pin Yoshika to the bed to get some rest but the girl had kept jumping back up trying to help. The healing hadn't taken very long but it took Nagato quite a while to explain everything and calm her shock. It isn't every day that a girl with ears and a tail magically heals you.

Fubuki was now in the dining hall finishing off her second plate of food. It was the first time that she could recall wanting to eat so much. Her arm was stiff as it had a bandage winding down to the wrist all the way from her shoulder. Her bigger injuries hadn't even left scars as Yoshika had tended to them first, but the young girl had finally stopped when Fubuki begged her to. She could see how much of a strain it was putting on the girl and she had never liked the thought of others hurting themselves to protect her.

Fubuki listened intently as the girls around her explained about themselves and their world. She was in awe. She couldn't believe that the thing she fought earlier was fighting this world, or more importantly that the thing she fought earlier was considerably small and easy to handle.

She answered the questions fired her way, did her best to explain why her machinery was different to Nagatos', and then rattled off all about Abyssals. She was quite happy to see that the girls of this world were so similar to the ship girls at home and was truly convinced that they were all going to get along well.

Fubuki had to stop mid-sentence as a coughing started at the dining hall entrance. The older girl she had met out in the ocean and later learnt was the bases commander stood shoulder to shoulder with Nagato.

'I think we all need to have a meeting.' Commander Minna voiced to the room. 'Yoshika is awake now as well.'

'Sergeant Bishop, do you mind waking Sanya and Eila?' Minna waited for the girl to respond and then informed her to return as soon as possible.

* * *

Fubuki now stood before the girls in what she could only assume was a class room. A white board was behind her and the tables in front were in neat lines running across the room. The only difference was the girls. At the Naval District they all sat behind their individual desks neatly. Most of the witches were doing what she was used to, but some laid across whole tables and others sat on top. Sanya was at a table in the last row and cuddled a black and red pillow to her chest whilst pressing her knees against the desk for support. The sight wasn't the most abnormal thing she had seen in the last twenty-four hours, but it made her list.

'Hello everyone. I'm Fubuki. I'm glad to meet you.' Fubuki introduced herself at Minnas prompting and bowed her head to the girls in front of her.

'Okay everyone.' Minna began. 'I'll now bring you up to speed with our situation.'

The room was quiet and patient whilst Minna explained the disappearance of the two Fuso Navy vessels, and how the timing aligned with the arrival of the ship girls who had joined them. But when it came down to it that was all Minna could say. No one knew why the ships were vanishing or why girls from another world were appearing in this one.

Once she had finished she turned her attention to Fubuki to give her a basic run down of the base. She described what the Neuroi were, that this world had never heard of ship girls and that as such was not equipped to handle her needs. Hence why she had spent all morning with the medics rather than soaking in a dock. She did add for reassurance that the engineers of the Fuso Navy were expected to arrive the next afternoon.

Minna had already heard about Nagatos' experiences, and they were no help in solving the problem. But as Fubuki had spent extra days in her own world she allowed the girl an opportunity to speak. Nagato was just as interested in what Fubuki had to say as she had not had the opportunity to speak to her yet either.

'Um. W-well…' Fubuki was a bit unsure what the commander was hoping to hear, she was just as shocked as anyone.

'Start with the Airfield Princess.' Nagato encouraged from her spot against the wall. 'That is the last thing I can remember.'

'That's the last time we saw you!' Fubuki now realised where she had to start and hardly even remembered to breathe as she relayed her story.

'We fired at the Airfield Princess after taking out the last cruiser Abyssal. She gave out a loud shriek as we hit her and slowly started to melt away unable to heal herself like she did when we first fired. Just as the shriek finished a large bright light shot across the ocean lighting it up right across to the horizon. It was so blinding and I couldn't see at first, everyone else said they couldn't either. And then when we could see, the Abyssal base was gone, but you were gone too Nagato-san.'

'I can faintly remember a bright light now I think about it. I had just thought that was from our firing though. I hadn't realised…' Nagato trailed off as Fubuki began again.

'We searched for hours afterwards around the area to try and find you. We eventually had to head back to the Naval District though as many of the ship girls were injured from the battle.' Nagato cringed as she pictured the already severely injured girls delaying their recovery just to search for her. 'We sent out patrols the following day but you were nowhere.'

'But.' Fubuki stopped here momentarily. Realising her massive mistake. 'Ohh, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry.'

'It's okay Fubuki. It's not your fault you couldn't find me.'

'No. It's not that. Ohh, I'm so sorry. I should have said so this morning.' She quickly caught her breath as she took in the quizzical looks around the room. She finally continued 'The next day there was a huge commotion around the Naval District. You see. The admiral had received word that Nagato had been found. Only that when we ran to see him and find out where you were. W-well, umm. It wasn't our Nagato at all. But the Nagato!'

Gasps were heard all around the room. Shirley, however, had simply wacked herself in the fore head.

'You most certainly should have said so earlier.' Was all that Minna managed to say.

'I'm sorry. I didn't think to mention it because we didn't get to see the ship ourselves. It had been spotted in a different country so the Admiral was only relaying what he had been told. The Nagato was on the way to the Naval District when I suddenly found myself getting shot at with a red laser.'

'So you don't know why you appeared here then?' Nagato asked the flustered young girl.

'No. I don't.' Fubuki looked down and muttered something to the floor.

'What is it?' Nagato encouraged, sensing that Fubuki still hadn't finished her story.

'There is one more thing.' Fubuki raised her head, but rather than addressing the whole room stared directly at Nagato. 'There are no more Abyssals. Anywhere.'

Nagato stumbled forwards and grabbed the young girl by the shoulders, the importance of the statement wasn't wasted on her but everyone else just looked in curiosity. 'Anywhere?'

Fubuki meekly nodded her head in response. 'We spoke to countless other navies to confirm it.'

* * *

It was finally the afternoon. The girls had been dismissed hours earlier and went their own ways. Commander Minna and Sakamoto had stayed with Fubuki as she repeated her earlier explanation in more detail for Nagato.

'Well I can at least say I'm extremely glad. Having no more Abyssals means our world can finally return to peace.' She stopped her pacing and returned her attention back to Fubuki. 'Though I still don't fully understand how this has occurred.'

'No one else is sure either Nagato-san. Even the Admiral couldn't say what was going on.'

Minna interrupted the girls. 'First we should focus on how to get you girls back to your world. We at least know you're not at war anymore so the finer details can be found out later.'

'You're right. One problem at a time.' Nagato agreed. 'I've realised something though. If our world is truly at peace, then while we're here I'd like to help you fight the war of this world.'

'But we don't have any ammunition.'

'It's okay Fubuki. I was thinking the engineers might be able to help us with that. I was the secretary ship so I know a fair amount about how the ammunition is designed and I've heard your knowledge of torpedos is quite impressive.' Nagato smiled as sweetly and encouragingly as she could manage. 'With the two of us it should be possible.'

'I can't ask to risk your lives for a world you aren't even a part of though.' Minna was clearly worried with the idea of the girls fighting. 'And you know nothing of how the Neuroi are in battle.'

'HAHAHA. But that's nothing some training can't fix.' Sakamoto didn't appear worried at all. 'Plus we'll need all the fire power we can get since we keep losing our own battleships.'

'Sakamoto is right Minna. Let us help.'

Minna finally caved in to the request. 'Fine. But not until I think you're ready. If you aren't you will just prove trouble in a real battle.'

'I couldn't have said it better.' Nagato was intent on helping the girls as much as possible. 'Fubuki. Will you help?'

'Hai!'

'Good. Then let's train.'

* * *

Fubuki fell to her knees again. She was bruised and fatigued beyond belief. Nagato came to her side and offered a hand up. 'Again.'

They sailed off together weaving through buoys and trying to catch up the girls in front. Fubuki ducked and made a hard right turn along her path narrowly avoiding the trail of paint bullets. She straightened herself upright and shouldered the small rifle she'd been given for training. Her shots were all over place though, and didn't even seem to get close to her target.

'You can't brake eye contact.' Sakamoto came to hover by her side as she spoke.

'I'm sorry. I've never fired an actual weapon before.' Fubuki was flustered but tried not to let her anguish show in her voice.

'Don't worry.' Sakamoto hovered behind the girl and steadied her from behind. She reached one arm around over her shoulders to rest over the hand holding the trigger and another arm around Fubukis' waist to hold her steady. 'Just keep it pressed into your shoulder and lean your weight into it. Yes. Like that.' Sakamoto lent her weight forward too to keep the girl in the right stance. 'Now stare along the length of the weapon.'

'It's kind of like looking where my turrets are aimed.' Fubuki smiled ear to ear as she got used to the new piece of equipment.

'Exactly. Now steady your breathing. And when you think you're ready just squeeze the trigger.' Sakamoto turned her head slightly to face the other witches. 'Miyafuji. Fly past the front of us.'

With a quick response Yoshika zoomed off and completed a large arc before decided upon her new course.

Fubuki took deep slow breaths whilst she waited for the girl to fly before her. As soon as Yoshika could be seen from the corner of her eyes she shot off some quick rounds. 'Not yet.' Sakamoto whispered into her ear whilst guiding her arms back into position with her own body.

She held her breath and once again squeezed the trigger in, all the while leaning into the rifle and stiffening her grip as the recoil shook through her body.

'Much better.' Sakamoto released her and flew over her head to now face the girl. 'Next time you'll even hit her.'

'But I don't have to use this weapon all the time right? It's too heavy and I don't think I can get used to it.' Fubuki continued to whine as Nagato came to rest beside her.

'We have to be prepared Fubuki. There's no guarantee the engineers can make ammunition for us.'

Before the girls could return to their training an order from Commander Minna came through Mios' ear piece. She shot up into the air at incredible speed and lifted her eyepatch to stare off into the distance. 'Neuroi.' She spat out the word in disgust before coming back down to join the other witches.

'Shirley and Barkhorn are flying out now to battle the Neuori. Lynne, Miyafuji, Perrine. You need to all fly back as fast as possible and then join the other two for battle.'

As the girls left she returned her attention to the ship-girls. 'You need to head back.'

Nagato understood that they were still a liability in battle but Fubuki started to protest. 'Not today Fubuki. Let's head back and see if there is anything we can do from base.'

'Thankyou.' Sakamoto added before flying off at amazing speeds to catch up to the younger witches.

'Wow.' Fubuki sailed up next to Nagato as the two turned for the base. 'They're really fast.'

* * *

 **So so sorry that it has been ages.**

 **On the plus side I finally have a degree, so as my first official act of being grown up. I have shifted my priorities to fan fiction. Bring on the real world!**

* * *

 **I have general plans with how I want to progress the story, but I am not concrete in how I introduce characters. If you want an input,**

 **let me know (PM, review or smoke signal me) favourite characters from either show, favourite ships from either, or any cross ships you think might be interesting to read about. For example I am curious how well Shirley X Kaga would work.**

 **Again, sorry for the wait, I'll endeavour to keep the updates more frequent from now.**

 **As always hope you enjoyed =)**


	7. Chapter 7

**hehehehe. I wrote this one out of sheer boredom**

* * *

7.

The witches had long since gone to bed.

Battling the Neuroi had tired the young witches involved and others had recently retired to their rooms as well. Nagato walked over to the fridge from her position and grabbed a bottle of chilled water from the shelf. The liquid was just about to escape before she was interrupted. 'That's not water!'

Nagato lowered the glass bottle and turned towards the commander. 'Huh?'

Minna lowered her hand from the door frame and strode over to the kitchen. 'It's vodka.'

'Sanya.' She finished, as if the name would provide insight into the predicament.

At Nagatos' stunned face she decided to continue. 'It's an Orrussian thing. Trust me. You don't want vodka.' She returned the glass bottle to the fridge and instead grabbed two smaller bottles.

She handed one to Nagato and twisted the top off the other with her palm when her hand was empty. She took a large mouthful before looking down to smile at the struggling Nagato. Minna quickly grabbed the bottle from her hands and pressed the metal cap into her palm before twisting the bottle around, being rewarded with a quiet hissing sound.

'Uggh…' Nagato had quickly spat her mouthful out and the commander couldn't contain her laughter.

'So you don't like beer?' Minna sat down on one of the couches and placed her bottle before her on the table. She signalled for Nagato to join her.

'Maybe I should try the vodka you talked about.'

'Don't!'

'It can't be worse than this.' Nagato finished as she started pouring herself some of the clear liquid. 'You sure this isn't water?'

'Stop!'

Nagato looked down at her cup and noticed little more than a mouthful of the drink stared back at her.

'Trust me. That's enough.' Minna answered the girls' quizzical look.

'You sure?' Nagato lifted the cup to her lips and threw her head back as she swallowed the liquid in one mouthful.

Her eyes opened wide and she looked to Minna for encouragement and sympathy.

'I tried to tell you.' Was the best she could manage.

Nagato turned to face the sink and bent her head down to lap at the free flowing water. 'What. Was. That?' She finally coughed as she felt the burn in her throat slowly dull.

Minna simply shrugged. 'Sanya has it with breakfast.'

'Seriously!' Nagato found it hard to believe that anyone actually willingly consumed this drink.

'Haahaha. No. Though she does drink it often.' Minna held up her beer bottle and wagged it enticingly before her.

'Well it wasn't as bad as this.' Nagato answered as she returned the vodka to the fridge.

'Have you not had a drink before?'

'No.' Nagato answered straight up. 'We don't drink. Fleet-girls I mean.' She quickly clarified.

'Why not? You must be old enough.' Minna questioned further.

'Uhm. I don't know to be honest.' Nagato took up a seat across from the commander and attempted another mouthful of beer. 'Maybe because of the taste.' She concluded as she lowered the bottle before her.

'I'm told it's acquired.' Minna took another large mouthful and sighed into the bottle. 'Personally I can't think of any better way to end a long day.'

Nagato admired the lively girl before her. The commanders shoulders were slumped forward and her posture betrayed her relaxed demeanour.

'It's so bitter though.'

'Hmmm. I know.' Minna shot up from her position on the couch and strolled purposefully towards the kitchen. When she returned with another glass bottle Nagato simply looked up at her questioningly. 'Don't worry. This one isn't bitter.'

She popped the lid off with a long metal stick which received with another rewarding hiss. 'This one is cider.' Minna handed the bottle to Nagato and watched curiously as the girl raised the bottle before her face.

'Cider?' Nagato waved the bottle under her nose and noted that it was definitely more enticing than the beer smell from earlier. She gingerly pressed the bottle against her lips and lifted as she allowed the slightest amount of liquid to pass between her lips and run down the back of her throat. 'Hhhmm.' She concluded as she swallowed another mouthful of the liquid. 'This is sweet.'

'Slow down.' Minna settled her bottle before her once more and watched Nagato swig generously at her drink.

'Why?'

'Have you really never had alcohol before?'

'What?' Nagato put the bottle down before her and pushed it away as if it had been offered by the devil. 'This is alcohol?'

'…' Minna stared dumbly at the bumbling girl before her. _'You have to be kidding me.'_ She thought to herself before continuing. 'Yes? Is that a problem?' She watched Nagato intently as she waited for an answer.

'I don't know.' Nagato mumbled into the top of her bottle before taking another quick sip. 'We were told not to drink alcohol. Though I don't know why. Especially since it's so sweet.' She took another swig of the drink in her hands.

Minna stared at the now half-empty bottle and decided to try and slow their drinking habits. 'Cheers.' She said sweetly before raising her bottle off the table and hovering it between the two girls.

Nagato looked at the bottle before her, not quite sure how to respond to Minnas' weird one-word sentence. She quickly felt Minnas' fingers wrap around her wrist though and allowed her arm to be guided by the witch. The bottles clinked together at the base and Minna repeated her earlier statement.

'Umm. Cheers?' Nagato mimicked the witches' actions and brought the bottle to her lips for another quick sip.

'Is there more?' Nagato pushed herself up with her hands but quickly had to grab the table for support. Strong hands rested against her shoulders and she looked across into Minnas' bright eyes. 'I feel kind of wobbly.'

'I've been there too.' Minna looked sincerely into the older girls' eyes and steadied her with one hand as she walked around the table to sit beside her. 'I'll get you some real water.' Minna finally released the tense shoulder and walked towards the kitchen. Catching her breath once her back was turned to not betray her uneasiness.

'Thank you.' Nagato took the cup with one hand and tipped her head back willingly as she felt the cool liquid run down her throat.

Minna was once again sitting beside the girl and now pushed her empty bottle to the side as she picked up Nagatos' earlier attempt at a beer _. 'Does this count as an indirect kiss?'_ Minna quickly discarded the thought as she took a sip of the still cool liquid.

'I heard training didn't go too well.' Minna finally started a real conversation.

'We're just not use to your world.' Nagato quickly defended the young ship-girl, knowing that the statement was not directed at her.

'I didn't mean anything by it.' Minna quickly covered her earlier fault in conversation 'I was just looking for something to talk about.' Minna scolded herself internally for parting with so much information, but prayed silently that Nagato, in her tipsy state of mind, would not pick up on the sly comment.

'Haha. We have plenty to talk about.'

' _No such luck then.'_ Minna concluded internally.

The silence though was answer to her earlier thoughts; the girls struggled to talk about anything but work. 'Ever played seven minutes in heaven?'

Minna looked at the unresponsive Nagato curiously. Her stare, however, remained blank.

'What?'

'It's just a silly game.' Minna finally finished, now regretting having asked in the first place. 'Forget about it.'

'I can never forget something a pretty girl says.' Nagato blushed at her empty bottle and Minna fought back the heat rising in her own cheeks.

' _Wow. I wonder what a second bottle will make her admit?'_ Minna left the couch but returned shortly after with two open bottles; a bottle of cider and another bottle of beer, despite her own half-full bottle before her.

'Well it won't really work with only two of us.' Minna took a nervous mouthful of beer and kept a watch over the girl beside her.

'What usually happens?' Nagato swigged at the sweet liquid and released a clumsy smile.

'You may spin a bottle, or draw lots. And once partners are decided you have to spend seven minutes alone somewhere.'

'I don't really get it.' Nagato was struggling to find the dissimilarities between the game and what they were currently doing. 'We are already alone and talking.' She finished so Minna fully understood where her confusion stemmed.

Minna looked around the room nervously before continuing the rules of the game. 'But in the game once your seven minutes are up you never have to speak of them again.'

Nagato swallowed another large mouthful and repeated the words in her head before she fully understood. 'Ohhhh. So you can tell secrets and stuff?'

'It's not just secrets!' Minna blurted out without thinking before once again looking around the room. 'You don't have to just talk during the seven minutes.'

With the next mouthful the conversation finally clicked. Nagato coughed as she choked on the sweet liquids. 'Ohh.' It seemed in her current state this was all she could manage.

'Like I said. It won't work with two of us.' Minna finished the second beer cringing as the now lukewarm drink coated her throat.

'But I would have wanted to choose you anyway.' Nagato blushed as she fought her inner demons. The sickly sweet liquid coursed through her veins and made it difficult for her to monitor her words.

'Huh?'

'Nothing.' She quickly covered. 'Just thinking to myself.'

Minna had heard every word. She just wanted clarification. 'Will you play with me then?'

'I thought you said it wouldn't work?' Nagato was evidently worried at the prospect of becoming intimate with Minna.

'It will work.' Minna declared boldly as she started on her next drink. 'We just have no choice in who we go with since there's only two of us.'

A melody interrupted the silence indicating that their seven minutes had come to an end.

* * *

Nagato silenced the alarm then looked down at her drink before rising it once again to her lips. It had been a full seven minutes before she had taken her long needed taste. She rolled her shoulders back as the warmth ran through her body. _'I never would have thought?'_

Nagato shook the thought and stared at the helpless girl next to her. She lowered her other hand from her neck and pinched the girls' waist lightly to bring her back to life. 'So is that what you expected?'

A shiver ran down Minnas' spine and shook her violently as she reached for her beer. 'Not exactly.' She admitted as she locked eyes with the ship girl in front of her. Minna now sat cross-legged on the couch as she stared at the older girl who mirrored her posture.

* * *

 **I wrote this chapter ages ago, whilst tipsy of course, and wasn't convinced I wanted to keep it. But I just enjoy it so much so I've wriggled it into the plot somehow.**

 **Don't stress! I will indulge details soon (though not heaps; imagination can do the rest).**

* * *

 **This has no overall effect on the story, but it does buy me some more time before I finish the next chapters. I've worked in some of the suggestions so look forward to it.**

 **Enjoy =)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know that it's a really short chapter considering how long it's been. But I just wanted to get something up to reassure everyone that this story has not died; it's just undergoing some major plot explorations...**

 **Strike Witches / KanColle not mine.**

* * *

8.

 _Crash._

Nagato tried to lift herself from the floor. The room before her was spinning, every small sound echoed painfully in her head and her throat felt uncomfortably dry. She managed to get back on the bed and waited for the room to stop moving.

When her surroundings were little more than a steady sway she rose to her feet and stumbled over to the cupboard to find clean clothes.

The night before seemed little more than a hazy dream. But the red marks on her shoulders from Minnas sharp nails remained as proof of her actions. She admired the handiwork in the mirror then ran her tongue over the cut in her lip. The passionate kiss she had shared with the Commander had brought light to a feisty side of Minna that she never knew existed. ' _Maybe it's another wolf thing.'_

* * *

After a much needed shower Nagato now stood across from the gorgeous witch in the Commanders office. They hadn't even had a chance to get breakfast when the message came across for her and Sakamoto to meet with Minna. A sense of déjà vu was in the atmosphere as they awaited the news.

The radio crackled evilly as it came to life. A man on the other end started to relay the message. 'I know what you're all thinking. But I'm afraid this time it's worse.'

'Please don't be Akagi. Please don't be Akagi.' Sakamoto was chanting the message over and over to herself almost prayer like.

'It's not the Akagi. This time a whole class of ship has vanished.'

'What!' Minna was clenching her knuckles like usual and now shot up from her chair. 'What class? How many ships? When? Where?' Her calm demeanour was slowly breaking apart with the latest news. Nagato had to admit this would be hard for anyone, she wasn't sure how she would cope if the positions were reversed.

'The Sendai class Ma'am. Three cruiser ships; Sendai, Jintsuu and Naka. We lost contact last night and confirmed the information just recently. We contacted you straight away. As we've come to understand girls have been appearing in their place and the girls may now be in trouble. Also…'

The man on the radio continued since no one had anything to say. 'The Akagi is travelling to Brittania to discuss the situation with you. Some Admirals are eager to learn about the girls who have been appearing.'

'Thank you for informing us as soon as possible.' Minna sighed heavily as she lowered herself back down into her chair. 'If you'll excuse us we have to go and make preparations for our three new guests.'

The room was uncomfortably silent. Nagato was fidgeting uncontrollably but knew she shouldn't put Minna in the same position as last time. Minna locked eyes with the fidgeting ship girl and simply nodded her head in approval. 'We'll split up the witches who are on duty. You can travel with one of the groups. I'll remain here and contact some other bases to see if any witches have come across the girls.'

Nagato turned tail quickly and mumbled her thanks as she exited the office. She broke into a jog and made it half way down the corridor before hearing her name echo down the walls. Irritated that someone would slow her departure she stopped and turned to find Sakamoto running out of the office. 'They've already been spotted.'

Nagato wasted no time in returning. She waited somewhat patiently as Minna explained that some witches from Romagna had spotted the girls early in the morning and now had them resting at their own base. Minna called for Yoshika, Lynne and Lucchini to meet them at the hanger and then allowed Nagato to ready herself and Fubuki.

* * *

Fubuki and Yoshika hadn't stopped talking the whole journey. Yoshika seemed unbelievably excited about new girls coming to join them and didn't at all seem fazed by the disappearance of the actual vessels. She was listening intently as Fubuki told her all about the new girls, Fubuki herself was just as excited as she told the witches all about her initial days at the Naval District.

Lucchini was some distance ahead effortlessly somersaulting through the clear sky singing some cheerful melody to herself. 'Romagna' and 'home' were the only words Nagato could clearly make out so she assumed the song was being sung in Lucchini's language. Lynne was the only calm witch, she cruised along next to Nagato hardly saying a word, probably because she was trying to drown Fubuki with her glare.

'We're here!' Lucchini shot off into the distance just as land started to come into view upon the horizon. Everyone stopped talking to pick up speed and follow her. Fubuki was muttering something about finally being able to see her friends and she had a massive smile plastered across her face.

Within the hour the girls found themselves welcomed by a small girl with a big attitude. She had a dark grey jacket on which came down to her thighs, the bounce in her step revealing the bright red underwear beneath. She led the girls towards the dining hall declaring that the girls they had found that morning were rested and now causing mayhem around the base. She seemed particularly annoyed at one girl who had apparently stacked tables together to make a stage and stated that she would become the number one idol of this new area.

* * *

'Hello everyone.' Naka was in the centre of the dining hall standing atop a table. She seemed to be handing out fliers though Nagato had no idea when she would have prepared them. 'I'm Naka-chan, idol of the fleet and I'll be giving my first concert in… Fubuki!'

Naka quickly jumped off the table throwing the fliers in the air behind her. Fubuki had also started running and the girls met halfway, quickly linking hands whilst they jumped around excitedly. They were surely exchanging news of their adventures but they were talking too fast and too shrill for Nagato to follow the conversation.

'My sister is already causing trouble.' Jintsuu had come to stand beside Nagato. Sendaii seemed to now be tearing Naka off of Fubuki in order to join in the fast-paced chat. Yoshika ran towards the girls and Fubuki quickly grabbed her by the wrist to introduce everyone, apparently the young witch had no trouble understanding what the shrill ship-girls were saying. Nagato simply sighed, she was happy to see that the girls were unharmed and reunited with friends.

'We have a fair way to travel, have you rested well?' Nagato was now alone with Jintsuu since Yoshika had come to drag a reluctant Lynne away.

Fubuki had started yelling across the mess hall before Nagato received a response. 'Jintsuu come meet everyone.'

She looked questioningly up at Nagato but took her leave when the gaze was answered with a subtle nod. 'I should go thank the commander for her hospitality anyway.'

* * *

Just over an hour had passed. By now everyone was well acquainted, Nagato had found and thanked the commander and after a short search Lucchini had finally been found asleep in a nearby tree. She was currently strolling behind the girls kicking up clouds of dirt as she mumbled something about the home air being better for sleeping than Brittania.

Nagato helped the younger girls secure their equipment as they were apparently still not used to doing so without the help of the launching sequence. When everyone was finally ready they straightened up and took to the sea once more, with the witches soaring ahead.

The journey home was surprisingly calm and the group of girls made it home faster than expected, which was convenient as the sun was just starting to drop behind the large Brittanian building. 'Alright everyone. We'll head inside and meet Commander Minna so you can then go get some better rest.'

'Night time!' Sendaii quickly cruised ahead of the other girls jumping and spinning in the water. 'Let's stay out for a bit longer Nagato-san.'

'First the Commander. Then you're welcome to stay up as long as you wish. But not on the sea, you don't know this world well enough yet.'

Sendaii punched her fists into the air in triumph. 'Woo hoo. Then let's go see the Commander already.'

'Come on Fubuki.' Sendaii yelled behind her as she once again shot off ahead.

Nagato simply sighed and shook her head before muttering to herself. 'You're not even going the right way Sendaii.'

* * *

 **So I have a massive list of excuses for why this has taken so long - but no one wants to listen to me whine.**

 **Instead just try to believe me when I say I'm trying to commit more to this story.**

 **wrt reviews; more girls are coming! I have already planned who I want next and how they fit into my story etc. I have little intention of introducing ship girls of other nations, however. Mainly because I don't know how to write about them. Sorry for the people this upsets.**

 **Feel free to send me more suggestions, I have already worked in some to later chapters which are under development.**

 **Enjoy Enjoy =)**


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